Virginia Zoo begins to build exotic Asian exhibit

NORFOLK

The Virginia Zoo has begun building homes for 42 exotic Asian animals that are expected to arrive in two years as part of a $16.5 million expansion plan.

"Trail of the Tiger" will include apes such as orangutans, siamangs and gibbons as well as Malayan tigers, either sun or sloth bears, Malayan tapirs, otters, giant hornbills, rhinoceros iguanas and giant water monitors. In all, there will be 20 species.

Zoo director Greg Bockheim said the exhibit was designed to give visitors an "intimate view" of the new animals.

"It's going to be a blockbuster exhibit," consulting architect Ace Torre said. "It's going to have unbelievable impact."

Mayor Paul Fraim said it is "very, very ambitious for a city like Norfolk to have a zoo like this."

A gift of $250,000 from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, which was announced Friday, rounded out the Virginia Zoological Society's capital campaign to raise $2 million. It's the largest corporate grant to the campaign and the first foundation anchor grant awarded in the region, said Charles Henderson Jr., the bank's market president for Hampton Roads.

The city is contributing $7.5 million, and philanthropist Frank Batten Sr. provided a $7 million matching grant. Batten is the retired chairman and chief executive of Landmark Communications, the parent company of The Virginian-Pilot.

The society will continue to raise money for the project. Bids for the expansion came in higher than budgeted, so some items, such as one of the water fountains and some decorative features, are being deferred until the extra money is raised, Bockheim said.

Other features of the new exhibits include underwater viewing of tigers and otters, a water feature for children to splash in and a protected walkway to connect the current Siberian tiger habitat with the new Malayan tiger one so the big cats can be switched between exhibits. The second tiger habitat will focus on tiger breeding.

Trail of the Tiger will occupy about 4.5 acres, filling in open space between the zoo entrance and the existing tiger exhibit. It also calls for updating and connecting to more than 2 acres of hoofstock yards, which exhibit animals such as kangaroos, llamas and a camel.

The Asian expansion also will include a zoo train, the Norfolk Southern Express, a one-third-scale replica of the first transcontinental railroad. Permitting for the train stations and tunnel put its opening slightly behind schedule, but it's now expected to start running at the end of the July.

"The zoo is an incredibly important institution in Hampton Roads," Henderson said. "Not only does it improve quality of life in our region, but it also serves as a major economic driver for the area."

Debbie Messina, (757) 446-2588, debbie.messina@pilotonline.com